Handbagged – Audition

Handbagged

by Moira Buffini

Dates: 1-5 October 2019

Venue: Wesley Memorial Church

Director: Chris Harris

Rehearsals

Rehearsals will begin late July and continue throughout August and September I am anticipating two evenings and a longer Sunday call. We recognise that a lot of people take holidays in August, and therefore shall be putting together the rehearsal schedule as soon as possible, accommodating holidays. We anticipate the full schedule being fully confirmed by mid-June, so that everyone is aware of the sessions they are called for.

Note: All cast will be required for the afternoon and evening of Sunday 29th September and for a dress rehearsal on Monday 30th September in the evening.

Synopsis

The weekly meetings between the Queen and Mrs. Thatcher between 1979 and 1990are imaginatively recreated whilst all sorts of key figures from the period float in and out and major events (the miners’ strike, ‘Rhodesia to Zimbabwe’, the Brighton bombing etc.) are re-visited.

The Roles

The play contains four roles for ‘senior’ women, that is to say with a playing age similar to that of the Queen and Mrs. T. in 1979-1990.

‘Q’ and ‘T’ - the older Queen and Mrs Thatcher

'Liz' and 'Mags' - the younger Queen and Mrs Thatcher

With such widely-known figures, we are inevitably looking at least for some recognisable traits – vocal and/or physical - of the original women.

There are two roles for men. They appear for the most part in suits and the script callsthem: ‘Actor 1’ and ‘Actor 2’. They probably both speak good standard English to begin with, being basically factotums from Buckingham Palace. But – fun, fun, fun! – they then leap into impersonations of at least 10 other people each.

‘Actor 1’ - younger, roughly 30s

‘Actor 2’ - older, 50s+

Important Dates

First round auditions:

Sunday 19 May, 2.30pm;

Tuesday 28 May, 7.30pm

Recalls (by invitation only):

Sunday 2 June, 6pm

Auditions take place at the URC in Summertown.

Map to the URC

Offstage Roles

I am also seeking, urgently, imaginative people to work on this unusual and entertaining piece. Its success will depend heavily on this ‘technical’ input and my aim will be to work collaboratively with all departments.